Two wins and two trades later, it’s time to take a breather in Vancouver.
Until the next mini-crisis. At least the temperature has dropped a bit now.
“Well, you know, when you lose, you don’t think you’ll ever win. So the pressure mounts,” said Jim Rutherford, president of hockey operations for the Canucks. Athleticism during the weekend. “But the players worked on it. They tried to simplify the game and (use) good habits on the ice. And that has resulted in a few wins here.
“Despite being passed by Carolina in our loss before both wins, you could see the guys working on those good habits more. So that’s what we need to build on now and continue to do.
The Hockey Hall of Fame executive knew when he took the job in Vancouver last December that he was headed for a hockey-loving market. But there is knowledge from afar, and then there is living.
Canucks fans were in total meltdown mode with the team starting the season on a seven-game winless streak (0-5-2). Rutherford also experienced the other end of the love/hate relationship between the team and the market last season when the team had its good times.
“It’s great to be in such a passionate hockey market,” he said. “I mean, we have a big audience here across the province of BC. There has been frustration over the years, but we knew from day one when we got here that there was work to be done and it was going to take time. We’d love to change it overnight, like everyone else, but we just have to stick with it and stick to the plan.
“When I got here, I said we weren’t going to trade our first choice. When we were doing trades, we were going to trade for guys 26 and under, and try to get it all together within a few years. So we’ll keep trying to do that. But I think the additions that have been made, starting with (Travis) Dermott last year and the guys we have this year, we’ve added some real character guys, and the more we can (get) from those guys , the better chance we have of winning.
What surprised some people, and I include myself in that camp, was signing JT Miller to an extension. Surprised, as I shared with Rutherford, because of all the noise during the draft in Montreal in early July about a potential trade. This noise, to be fair, was coming from other reception desks, but honestly, I wouldn’t have bet on an extension. And it’s also partly because I saw Miller as the kind of valuable asset that could be turned into future pieces for a team like the Canucks that needs to replenish the pipeline.
“First of all, as far as the noise and the rumors go and that, they don’t come from us,” Rutherford said. “Other people said, ‘We’re surprised you signed JT’ Well, I don’t know what the surprise is. is not the right way to do it, in my opinion.
“JT brings a lot to our team – not just his offensive production, but he just did things that really impressed me. You know when he’s injured he always wants to play. He wants to do what he can to help the team win. He wants to win. And it’s hard to find players like that. He’s a two-position player. He brings a lot to our team.”
And I guess looking at all of this from afar, what I took away from the Miller expansion is that it’s clearly not a complete rebuild – not that I ever thought that it would. But there is no question here of dropping a grenade on the whole and starting from scratch, which could take several years. It’s about trying to get the team to a better place while still being competitive. Which is a challenge.
“We have to improve the team and we are building the team,” Rutherford said. “And people can use whatever words they want to explain what that means. But we will continue to build the team until we become a contender for the Cup win.”
The tweaking continued this week with a pair of trades. The Canucks first acquired 23-year-old forward Jack Studnicka, a second-round pick in 2017 who the Bruins were once pretty high on but wasn’t among the team’s top five options. In the center.
The Bruins once considered Jack Studnicka one of their future centers. Then he stalled. https://t.co/TWtv6VzXF5
— Fluto Shinzawa (@FlutoShinzawa) October 28, 2022
“We love it,” Rutherford said. “We hope he can find the consistency to become an NHL regular. He has the ability to do that. You can never be strong enough in center ice, and he’s also a two-position player. But yeah, he’s a player who at one point was highly regarded, and just based on the numbers, the time had come and we had a chance to get him back.
Then came the pickup of Ethan Bear on Friday, with the Hurricanes keeping their salary, making him a $1.8 million player this season instead of $2.2 million.
“We’ve been trying to get him since the offseason,” Rutherford said of the 25-year-old right-handed defenseman. “And of course when you make trades you have so many moving parts with the cap, and when the team is really ready to let the player go and all those things. But we got to the point where Carolina was ready to let him go and they would withhold money so we could put him under our cap.
“He’s a defenseman who moves the puck. He’s a good player when he’s on his game. It might take him some time here in Vancouver. He hasn’t played much for a few weeks. But I know he’s excited about coming here, and that’s really the start, when a guy is really positive about joining a team. We need right-handed defenders and younger guys, and he falls into that category.
The Canucks acquired defenseman Ethan Bear from the Carolina Hurricanes for a fifth-round pick.
Vancouver also received 25-year-old forward Lane Pederson as part of the deal.
Here’s what you need to know ⤵️https://t.co/gTqiFX1oFQ
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) October 28, 2022
Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin walked out last week, when the team was still winless this season, and gave head coach Bruce Boudreau public support, which is kind of what we would expect.
Just as you would expect people to speculate if the head coach will pay the price for a rough departure. Which, fair or not, comes with the territory when the coach is on an expiring deal.
“When a team loses, that’s the norm – everyone tries to figure out who gets knocked out first,” Rutherford said of the media speculation. “And usually the coach gets people talking a lot. But, you know, I know people say he has an expiring contract; I don’t understand, quite frankly. When you sign a contract, it goes until a certain date, and when that date expires, you either renew the contract or you don’t renew it.
“So I don’t understand that part. In Bruce’s case, he drove the team forward last year at a really good pace and really motivated them. This year we got out of camp and things didn’t go well for us. But I’ll state the obvious: he’s a guy who’s won 600 games, so… he’s had a lot of success as a coach.
Speaking of expiring contracts, captain Bo Horvat clearly hasn’t let his lack of a contract extension dampen his game, as evidenced by his six goals in nine games. Still, it will be a hot topic all year round.
“I’m very proud of the way he handled the situation,” Rutherford said. “He stayed focused. He played his game. He played well for us. The contract, we have a difference of opinion as to where that number falls. And that’s where we are at this point.
Are you still hoping to get him signed?
“Yes,” Rutherford said.
So just 73 regular season games left in what has been a boring and uneventful season so far in Vancouver. I’m joking of course.
What does Rutherford see for his team now the rest of the way?
“It hasn’t changed since the start of the season,” Rutherford said. “We feel we have enough good players to fight for a playoff spot. We dug ourselves a little hole. But we’re not as bad a team as when we were on our losing streak. And now we cannot rejoice in two victories. You know, we’re supposed to win games.
“We need to pull ourselves together in the race and be consistent and keep simplifying the game with good habits.”
And with that, our interview ended, one in which Rutherford looked as zen as possible, which has long been part of her makeup. But that calm and assurance might never be more useful (or tested) than in his current role. His GM will need it. It will be the same for the rest of the front office.
Because there may not be another market like Vancouver in the NHL. The fans want it so badly. Like it should be. They certainly deserve it after all these years.
(Photo: Bob Frid/USA Today)
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